Keep the installed version beside the reference
AMA Software Citation for Versions, Packages, and Methods Sections
Use archived R and ggplot2 releases to separate software versions, developer citation metadata, and the publications recommended for scholarly credit.
An AMA software citation can identify the program, version, developer or publisher, release year, and online location. First check whether your journal wants a reference entry, a Methods statement, or both. We inspected the freely available source metadata for R 4.5.1 and ggplot2 4.0.0. For ggplot2, the recommended book is from 2016, while the checked package release is from 2025. Both dates belong in the source notes, attached to different objects.
Decide between software, a package, and a methods paper
Name the object you used before choosing a reference format. The main statistical program provides the environment. An extension package may supply a particular model or plotting function. A methods paper explains an approach. Its publication year may precede the version you ran.
East Carolina University’s AMA 11 guide gives title-first software references with version, publisher, year, access date, and URL. It also says software need not always appear in the reference list when identified in the Statistical Analysis subsection of Methods. Follow your target journal’s requirements rather than assuming every program needs an identical entry.
JAMA’s author instructions ask writers to identify statistical software, its version and manufacturer, along with extension packages. That information lets a reader understand your computing environment. A citation to an algorithm paper can support a methodological choice while leaving the program version to be reported separately.
Collect the versions from the research environment
In R, R.version.string reports the R version. packageVersion("ggplot2") reports the installed ggplot2 version, and sessionInfo() records session details. Save that output with the analysis materials when you run the work. Looking at a current download page later may give you a different release.
The worked examples use archived releases deliberately. CRAN lists R 4.5.1 on June 13, 2025. The ggplot2 4.0.0 source DESCRIPTION identifies its version and September 11, 2025, publication date. These are reproducible examples of source checking, not claims about the versions installed on your computer.
Keep the program’s developer information alongside its version. R’s citation metadata names R Core Team and R Foundation for Statistical Computing. For a package, distinguish the author list from maintainer, funder, and copyright-holder roles before filling an author or publisher field.
Check the recommended citation before converting it
R documents citation() for the base system and citation("packageName") for a package. By default, a package CITATION file is used when present; otherwise R can generate a citation from DESCRIPTION metadata. Read what the command returns, because the result may describe a book or paper rather than a software release.
For R 4.5.1, the base CITATION file supplies the manual title, R Core Team, foundation name, website, and a year taken from the R version. Using the checked 2025 release, the title-first software entry below follows ECU’s AMA pattern. Retain R Core Team in your notes when adapting that recommendation to the title-first format.
ggplot2 4.0.0 provides a particularly clear comparison. Its CITATION file recommends Hadley Wickham’s ggplot2 book from 2016. Springer identifies that book as the second edition and supplies its DOI. Keep 2016 for the book, and keep 4.0.0 for the package used in your analysis.
| Field | Checked source metadata | Use in AMA draft or Methods |
|---|---|---|
| R version | Archived release 4.5.1, 2025 | Version 4.5.1 in the software entry |
| R attribution | R Core Team; R Foundation for Statistical Computing | Foundation in the publisher position of the title-first entry |
| Package release | ggplot2 4.0.0, September 11, 2025 | Package version 4.0.0 in Methods |
| Recommended author | Hadley Wickham in ggplot2 CITATION | Wickham H in the book entry |
| Recommended year | 2016 in ggplot2 CITATION | Retain 2016 for the book |
| Additional book fields | Edition 2 and DOI from Springer | 2nd ed. and doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24277-4 |
AMA software reference for the checked R release
R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Version 4.5.1. R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2025. Accessed October 19, 2026. https://www.r-project.org/
A title-first software entry adapted from verified R metadata. The release is archived on CRAN; use your own version and access date.
AMA draft for ggplot2’s recommended publication
Wickham H. ggplot2: Elegant Graphics for Data Analysis. 2nd ed. Springer; 2016. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24277-4
This entry cites the book recommended by the package, rather than asserting that ggplot2 version 4.0.0 was released in 2016.
Describe the software’s role in Methods
Write what the software did in the study. Identify the package that performed a material part of the work, and keep its version with the main program version. Follow your journal’s instructions about which supporting publications belong in the reference list.
The Methods example below is illustrative wording. Use it only if those releases and tasks match your work. It shows how a package version can remain visible even when its recommended bibliographic reference describes a book.
Illustrative Methods wording
Analyses were performed using R version 4.5.1 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing). Figures were produced using ggplot2 version 4.0.0.
Replace these versions and activities with the software actually used. Add the appropriate numbered reference where your journal requires it.
Apply the same checks to SPSS and Stata
For an AMA SPSS citation, record the exact IBM SPSS Statistics product and version used, then verify the release year and responsible company from its documentation. A generic web citation to a sales page leaves those details unresolved. Use the same checks whether the program was supplied by your university or purchased separately.
For an AMA Stata citation, StataCorp’s public FAQ separates software, manuals, and support FAQs. It gives Stata 19 a 2025 software citation and directs readers to release history for other versions. Adapt the vendor’s metadata to the required AMA format; keep a manual reference separate when you cite the manual itself.
Review the finished entry manually
AMA Cite has no dedicated Software form and cannot read the programs installed on your computer. Use the software example here as a manual model. Its Book form can help draft the recommended ggplot2 book reference, while a recommended methods paper belongs in Journal Article.
Before submitting, compare the Methods statement with your saved session information. Open the software or publication record behind each reference and check its year. Save the recommended citation beside the edited version so you can trace any later changes.